German voters slide inexorably to common sense …

Reform wouldn’t have the numbers necessary to form a government fancythat
People do change mindsets in nearly a hundred years about very many things, we remain human with all our flaws but are generally more liberal.
Modern Germans are aware of their past and want to bury it.
Could a person in the 1920’s have envisaged gay marriage, that trans people would be accepted, that welfare would prevent utter poverty? Attitudes change as well as laws.

Reform are not far right but The Restore Party is. A lot of people are fed up with the Uniparty after 14 years of the Conservatives and 2 years of Labour our country has gone down the pan. Only Reform is listening to voters concerns.

There is so much AfD published information out there about what they would do if they got into power. What I have copied is just the tip of an almighty iceberg.

Anyone willing to continue to support them after fully understanding the implication of their policies does not imo deserve a place in civil society.

I have no wish to enter conversation with such people.

Tbh the extreme left is dangerous but this is definitely not a present threat in western countries and hasn’t been for a very long time so mentioning this doesn’t really help the argument.
Also, despite my comment earlier, I don’t think is fair to make parallels between German voters and the 1930s when there is far right politics in the US and other western countries including the UK.
We need to get our own house in order because I do believe the far right is a very dangerous political ideology, especially when we see the rent a mob thugs who are the sharp end of the wedge.
Whatever issues voters are concerned about this is not going to be a solution and I fear will just cause further division and violent unrest.
Sadly when I saw the OPs post, as a Jew - and I know I don’t represent all Jewish people - with relatives who perished in Treblinka, my blood did run cold, but I realise now that this is unfair when it is happening in so many western countries right now.

The very thought of Burnham as PM makes me shudder far more than any situation in Germany.

FriedGreenTomatoes2

Good luck to the AfD and Reform.
Common sense is finally emerging. The welfarism cannot (and should not) be sustained.

Totally agree!

Reform are incapable of forming a government here, it could only be achieved by joining the Conservatives and that’s unlikely thankfully.

Dont agree with that either.

Sorry, not getting at you, and quite often I agree with you, but dont think I do today!

Oreo

People have a very different mindset to those of nearly a hundred years ago but will still naturally feel resentful when they see their governments acting wrongly and then floundering about with no answers.

Sorry, I am still not getting in which way.

BlueBelle

I won’t be joining either, but to hear someone use ‘reform’ and ‘common sense’ in the same sentence makes me shudder

Reform are incapable of forming a government here, it could only be achieved by joining the Conservatives and that’s unlikely thankfully.
If Burnham becomes PM and turns this government around there’s every possibility that Labour will win the next GE.

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) broadly views Vladimir Putin as a valuable partner and a champion of sovereign, conservative values. While the party has some internal divisions—with co-leader Alice Weidel occasionally criticizing Putin—many AfD leaders defend his leadership, continuously push to drop EU sanctions, and advocate for restoring Russian gas supplies via the Nord Stream pipeline.

I won’t be joining either, but to hear someone use ‘reform’ and ‘common sense’ in the same sentence makes me shudder

There is much scaremongering about Germany and ‘what may happen’.
Jews have less to worry about there than the recent wave of immigrants who are mainly Muslim.
And I say that as a Jew with historic connections to Germany and Austria.

Not joining in this thread except to say that I totally agree with Oreo, which no doubt makes me a Fascist and a Nazi!

The Alternative for Germany (AfD) advocates for a return to traditional, biologically defined gender roles, emphasizing a woman's primary purpose as a mother and homemaker.

The party strongly opposes modern feminist movements, gender equality quotas, and "gender mainstreaming," favoring policies designed to boost the birth rate among native Germans.

Core ideological stances on women's roles include:

Traditional Family Ideal: The party champions a "Kinder, Küche, Kirche" (Children, Kitchen, Church) ideology, centering the ideal family around the traditional married nuclear unit.

Pronatalism & Financial Incentives:

To combat demographic decline, the AfD proposes financial policies (such as interest-free family loans) to encourage women to have more children and leave the workforce to raise them.

Opposition to "Gender Ideology": The party actively campaigns against gender studies, sex education in schools, gender-neutral language, and Equal Pay Day, characterizing them as elitist agendas that erase natural biological differences.

Protection of Traditional Women's Rights: The AfD often frames its anti-feminist stance as a defense of traditional women's rights, expressing particular concern about protecting native German women from perceived threats of violence or cultural shifts brought on by immigration.

It’s a good start, but the only way to stop the current flood of illegal migration is for the whole continent of Europe, (including us) to draw up a workable, effective plan to tackle the issue.

It really shouldn’t be an impossibility to protect European borders.

Major Jewish organizations, such as the Central Council of Jews in Germany, universally condemn the far-right

Alternative for Germany (AfD). Leaders describe the party as a "danger to Jewish life," pointing to its promotion of xenophobia, trivialization of the Holocaust, and tactical use of anti-Semitism.

Key perspectives from Jewish leadership include:

Existential Threat: Josef Schuster, president of the Central Council of Jews in Germany, warned that Jewish life in the country would be incompatible with an AfD-backed government, cautioning that a surge to power could lead to large-scale emigration of Jews.

Tactical Philosemitism: Many Jewish leaders assert that the AfD's attempts to pose as a pro-Jewish or pro-Israel party are insincere. Organizations argue the party uses these stances "exclusively" to legitimize anti-Muslim, anti-immigrant, and anti-democratic positions.

Holocaust Relativization: Leaders frequently cite inflammatory remarks by prominent AfD figures—such as former Thuringia leader Björn Höcke—as evidence of revisionist history that aims to dismantle Germany's post-war remembrance culture.

Oreo

It amuses me that posters use an emoji or say they’re bashing their head against a brick wall when what they really mean is ‘why can’t others see that I’m right about everything’.

Be careful!

I’m not going to contribute further on this thread, but am following what is happening via my German relatives that we have booked to visit next spring.

Governments here and in Germany, as a last point, encouraged immigration as the population was falling ( births) but opened the floodgates too widely and too fast.
Most of Europe are facing problems because of that, but it doesn’t mean there will be jackboots across the Continent.

It amuses me that posters use an emoji or say they’re bashing their head against a brick wall when what they really mean is ‘why can’t others see that I’m right about everything’.

I know a great deal about Germany twaddle as am sure many others do on this forum.
All areas of every country are different, including here in the UK.

Ladyleftfieldlover

Sorry, I won’t be joining in with this post either. Too horrifying.

No need to say "sorry". I'm fed up of bashing my head against a brick wall.

People have a very different mindset to those of nearly a hundred years ago but will still naturally feel resentful when they see their governments acting wrongly and then floundering about with no answers.

Oreo

twaddle

Oreo

Modern Germany is nothing like the Germany of almost a hundred years ago.

I disagree. It is populated by human beings, who tend to behave in similar ways in parallel circumstances. It isn't about Germany being like it was 100 years ago, but many countries in Europe going down the same path as Germany did. As it happens, Germany 100 years ago was probably the most cultured country in the world. It was thriving (superficially) during the 1920s and I doubt if anybody could have foreseen what would happen. If anything, it was more likely to have happened in France, which was more anti-semitic than Germany.

We ignore what happened then - and how it happened - at our peril.

It wasn’t thriving in the 20’s and 30’s actually, as Germany was having to recover from the defeat of the war and it suffered during the depression as many countries did.
Which is why the rise of Hitler and cohorts happened.
Germany was very shamed after the last war and didn’t, to their credit try and sweep the evils that Hitler perpetrated under the carpet.
Modern Germany is a very different country but like all countries including the UK could be pushed to become very right wing if they feel their towns are being filled with migrants and their way of life compromised.

You'll find that former East and West Germany are very different.

That's why I wrote superficially. 1920s Germany on the surface was "swinging". The Weimar Republic was fragile, but it was trying to move Germany away from its past.

In many ways 1920s Germany had a lot in common with the UK (and other countries) in the present day.

Governments here and in Germany have allowed this all to happen by too much immigration.
Having said that, it can be mitigated by proving to the native inhabitants of both countries that they themselves will not suffer and will be put first when it comes to jobs and social housing.